Merlin is what apps could be

Every now and then, something pops up on HackerNews that you did not expect to pop up on HackerNews.

Recently, that was Merlin, an app that lets you ID birds from their songs. I’ve been using this app for a few years and have recommended it to many people.

When I hear something I don’t recognise, I get Merlin out. You can see the sound signatures in real time, and pictures of birds will start appearing below as they’re IDed.

The app is free and was developed by Cornell University. It does one thing incredibly well, has a great design and is rated 4.9 on the App Store with 105k+ ratings.

I appreciate the push-back against ever-increasing smartphone usage and ever-greater stacks of apps. But occasionally you use something that makes you realise: this is what apps could be. This is how apps can make the world a richer place.

Merlin connects you to the outside world. It doesn’t try to lock you in. It depends on you being out in nature and hearing things, and the act of IDing cultivates a deeper appreciation of what’s around you.

Being able to ID birds is a practice that opens and opens. At first, I could barely identify anything. Then I started picking out sparrows, robins and great tits without the app. My world transformed with this ability to recognise. It became animated with familiar voices. I felt part of a wider community of living things.

Then I started feeding birds in my garden. This allows you to see things close up. But it also extends the practice further. Each day I would check if there was enough seed, see if the squirrel had wrecked anything in the early hours and notice what birds were about this morning. It’s a wonderful ritual.

The background of birdsong became a constant conversation I could tune into at any time, learning how it shifted over seasons. The more I heard, the better I got at spotting birds too. The eyes learn to adapt to flight paths. These days I can see a bird flying out of the corner of my eye and usually know what it is just by its movement or wing shape.

Merlin gave me my first step into this world—a simple digital product that grants access to a vast, tuneful world right at your doorstep. I still use it frequently now, when I see or hear something new, like a kid hunting out Pokémon.

Go download it now.